The Search Within
by Maiko Hime
Summary: After being kidnapped by Heretic and Talia's death Damian did not recover like everyone thought. Despite everyone's attempts no one, no even Bruce, can get through to him. Damian takes up solo vigilante escapades once again as a way of acting out. As his wit's end Bruce decides to send him to a school specifically for traumatized youth. There they meet Victoria Blithe a new friend?
1. Chapter 1

~This is my first, EVER, Batman story. Please be kind. I am following the new DC movie Arc from 'The Son of Batman' to the recent one 'Batman: Bad Blood' I like the family dynamic but to me Damian wouldn't have just been OKAY that his mother hated him, wanted to kill him, didn't love him and cloned him then died. I don't care its just not how someone's mind works especially a severely confused 12 year old with no concept of emotion. So I wanted to explore that a little bit. Yes I created an OC. Victoria is a teacher/counselor who works with youth whom experience trauma and have a hard time adjusting to regular peer and social situations. So they can't go to a normal school. So they decided to create a place where some of these kids could come to get counseling and therapy and also go to school while at the same time being around children just like them and learning social skills and gaining the confidence to be in groups. They do it all the time in reality and its really successful. I thought you know Damian really doesn't need to learn anything but he knows jack about how to be a kid, not too mention how to handle his emotions without you know beating the crap out of something or cutting someone. For him to someday actually be Batman and run Wayne Enterprises he needs to learn how to behave like a human being and not a angry little monkey with parent issues with a katanna and ninja skills. In reality he might be actually TOO advanced and possibly dangerous to be around normal children much less traumatized children recovering in therapy but let's just play pretend he has learned from his time in the mountains with the monks and being around his dad to control himself to a point and knows better. He seems to for the most part. Victoria or Tori as she is called in the story is going to start out as a another adult that Damian learns to trust and in her starts to see a mom figure and through that Bruce will meet her more and yatta yatta yatta romance. It won't be boring and will be filled with adventure eventually and dynamics. Give it a chance! ~

 **The Search Within**

_Prologue_

Bruce Wayne could only do so much to keep Damian in the closet for long from the press and media. The Gotham Press were usually ruthless when it came to hounding him but Damian's habits of sneaking out of his room for solo vigilante escapades did nothing to help either. It wasn't often but every now and then a reporter would wait outside his mansion on the public property. They would be waiting to catch the latest starlet or model coming out of his home from a late nite cap or from a previous date the night before. This time, however, they happened to catch his League of Assassin's trained eleven-year-old scaling his perimeter fence.

Luckily his impeccable security system had captured the reporter in action taking a picture of them and their license plate number. With Bruce's attention being on more pressing matters Alfred had managed to track down the reporter and pay him off for the pictures of Damian and his silence. It wasn't the money at all that Bruce was worried about paying it was the time and effort it was taking to contain his son. Even after the disaster that had been Talon and the Court of Owls and the death of Talia, the Heretic, and the disbandment of the League of Assasins he was still having a hard time with Damian. If anything after Talia's death, he had been even more rebellious than before. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was acting out it was to be expected given his life and the changes he had suffered in such short amount of time plus the tragedy of his mother's death.

Bruce was at his wits end, though. Damian couldn't stand Dick, the other Wayne attempting to assist corral the preteen, other than a sparring partner when he got to try to beat his brains in. Damian lately rarely would even talk to him, Alfred had little patience for the boy which was almost unheard of given Alfred's aptitude and experience, and Bruce could not send him to a regular childhood counselor or psychiatrist his troubles and his past were too complex and his mentality was far to advanced for his age for most doctors anyways. He thought about school. It was honestly his last resort before shipping him to a military assignment with some old friends that he had met in his youth predating Batman.

It wasn't until he met a young woman through chance that he got an idea of what to do with Damian. She was a teacher at a local private school coming to him hoping to look for funding. Her name was Victoria Blithe and she had been a teacher at Gotham Preparatory for a decade. Gotham Preparatory was the city's oldest school and at one time had been a private boarding school for the city's elite back in the roaring 20's. The school was too small to keep up with the city's growing population of youngsters and was closed for some time before being opened up once more as an orphanage.

After being an orphanage for 30 years it was closed again before bought by its owner now, a silent partner, who made it a private school for children who were not able to attend regular public due to some unfortunate event in their lives. Most of the children were victims of trauma or abuse and were unable to perform at the public school level because of emotional, mental, physical handicaps. So Gotham Preparatory was reopened as a specialty school for children who had been victims of trauma in order to to ease them into being into a group of peers, and help them be able to rejoin society one day.

Damian had been tutored privately and honestly could probably start college if he wanted too but Bruce did not want to alienate him anymore. As unique as Damian was he wanted him to try to assimilate to life as much as possible or else there was no other way he was to become his heir. There was no way he could trust him to one day possibly take up the mantle of Batman. He had in some shape or form learn to socialize and deal with everyday people. He thought that if he could get him around children whom emotionally had the same communication issues and drawbacks as he did that maybe he could learn to progress. Also, it wouldn't hurt for him to see some of the counselors to at least let him know it was okay to experience emotions and learn how to process them. Obviously, everyone in the Wayne household was out of the questions and too close to the issue for Damian to trust and communicate with. Bruce had no other choice and this was one of his last ideas.

The only other issue was their unique nightlife. Damian was smarter than to release any type of information or say anything but the last thing Bruce needed was some becoming curious. This would be a very timid situation and would require the utmost care. That was why he was personally going to meet Victoria Blithe and become acquainted with her and bringing Damian along to tore the school.

"Father this is ridiculous. I don't need to go to school!" Damian snapped as they rode in the limo towards Gotham Preparatory the countryside outside their windows.

"Damian we have discussed this. It's no longer an option." Bruce said adamantly staring his son down for other than the emerald green eyes, which he inherited from Talia, was his exact replica as a young child.

Damian had hit a growth spurt as of late and was roughly up to his bicep now around 5'3 and probably would hit another one before long. The Wayne men were fairly tall. His hair had grown a bit long and he had combed it appropriately and was wearing a suit matching Bruce's. Other than the severe scowl on his face he looked every bit the well groomed and educated young man.

"Oh that's right you're going to 'ground' me? That is what you said?" Damian challenged with a sneer.

Bruce's eyebrow twitched as his hard blue eyes focused on his son. "More than that. I'm going to take away your night privileges! AND if you keep pushing me Damian I'm sure I can think of something else." Bruce's thundering shout verberated the limo compartment

Damian looked at him a bit in surprise at the outburst. In all their arguments about going to this school, the last few days not once had Bruce threatened to not let him be Robin anymore and go out on patrol. If he had gone so far as to threaten to ground him from the patrol he was serious.

"Damian I've had enough. You won't talk to me, Alfred, or Dick. You sneak out and risk exposing us. All you think about is yourself. I don't know what else to do." Bruce said his tone still serious and harsh

Damian refused to look at him gripping his pants legs tight until his knuckles turned white. Bruce sighed regaining some of his composure. His youngest son was one of the few people in this world that could push him to anger so quickly.

"We are going to meet Mrs. Blithe. You're going to go to this school for at least one semester. No questions. If you try to quit or leave for any reason you're done." Bruce said with finality.

"Fine." Came Damian sharp soft reply laced with hate

A silence settled over the car for the rest of the drive.

Tori was beside herself honestly she didn't know what to do. She paced back and forth in Katherine Holloway's office in a flurry of motion. The aged Dean of Gotham Preparatory watched her a bit irritable. The thirty-two-year-old woman could hardly compose herself.

"Ms. Blithe if you would please, calm down." Mrs. Holloway pleaded

"Mrs. Holloway I'm trying. It's just, Bruce Wayne, is coming here! With his SON? I didn't even know he had a son." Tori said a bit flustered trying to straighten her already perfectly straight brunette hair styled in a tight chignon. The woman of medium size and medium high fanned her already flustered and red face trying to calm herself.

"An illegitimate son apparently which from my understanding is to be kept private at all costs. He has not come forwards with the boy's identity yet. After establishing him here he does plan to come forwards. However, that is beside the point. Apparently you reached out to him for a donation at a charity event. He asked for you specifically and I expect you to meet with him and be the professional that I know you are." Mrs. Holloway said adjusting her glasses and lacing her fingers together lying them on her desk leaning on her forearms.

Tori turned to Mrs. Holloway who had been the Dean of Gotham Preparatory for about fifteen years. She had hand chosen Tori to be a teacher here and Tori, for the most part, had enjoyed working with Mrs. Holloway. She truly cared for the school and its students and their mission here to help the children who came to them. Right now though she couldn't say she was her favorite person because she was making her meet with one of Gotham's Elite Bachelor's privately. Tori wasn't shy but the meet and greet with the parents and taking on new students was not really her forte' that was what Mrs. Holloway did. Mrs. Holloway was always in control of the screenings of parents and potential new students. Tori didn't feel qualified nor did she have the courage to meet with someone like Mr. Wayne alone.

"Mrs. Holloway I understand the situation it's just...I don't think I'm the person best qualified for this." Tori admitted to her

Mrs. Holloway gave her a stern look "You certainly aren't I'll be honest with you, my dear. This situation is unique, however. As you know we don't usually take on students like Mr. Wayne's son who are of the most privileged of Gotham. Our students are usually from middle-class families and lower incomes. We run off donations and grants," she said standing and coming closer to Tori, "However Mr. Wayne has agreed to donate a substantial amount to our foundation. Taking on his son will be our privilege and responsibility and anything he asks for will be done and he asked to meet with you so you will meet with him."

Tori knew by the look in Mrs. Holloway's eyes that she was not getting out of this. She thought back to the charity event she had attended in order to ask for funds for their school. It was technically an excuse for the elite society of Gotham to get together and drink and socialize all the while trying to pretend they were helping charity and be philanthropists. She had dressed in a simple black skirt and jack with flats professionally and immediately felt out of place in the tuxedos and cocktail dresses. It was her first event she had ever gone too so she had no idea what to expect. Mrs. Holloway, being a blue blood herself, usually went to these events and she was much better at this than Tori was. Mrs. Holloway, unfortunately, had broken her ankle and Tori had had to take her place that year.

In the crowd, Tori tried to mingle and luckily some of Mrs. Holloway's previous acquaintances took pity on her and included her in their groups throughout the night introducing her and making sure she made enough connections. Somehow Tori had ended up in a corner with Bruce Wayne and they had spoken briefly. He was as handsome as they said with a dark quality to him, much broader in appearance than his pictures gave him credit for, and his ice were a piercing ice blue. Even though she suspected he could care less about her and would forget her by the end of the night he still took the time to shake her hand and introduce himself and allow her to speak about her school.

That was all Tori had to go off of. Other than that she had no idea what the man was like. She hoped that it would go as well as last time and it would be the light conversation, professional, and simple.

"Yes, Mrs. Holloway. I understand. I will do my best."

A half hour later both Mr. Wayne and his son, Damian, came through the office doors. Tori's stomach sank immediately seeing the stern, tall, broad, and handsome man come into the office even with his polite smile she still felt uneasy and out of her element. She placed her hand in his shaking it.

"Hello again, Ms. Blithe." Mr. Wayne said

"Hello. Thank you for coming Mr. Wayne." Tori said smiling and silently cheered herself for not messing up the first greeting.

"Thank you for seeing us. This is my son, Damian." Mr. Wayne said turning to his left and introducing the young man standing at his side. Tori turned and saw the boy, tall for his age, standing by his side who wore and expression that said he wanted to be anywhere than here. Sharp, intelligent, and unforgiving green eyes cut to her and for a moment, she felt like he was analyzing everything about her.

"Hello, Damian, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ms. Blithe. I'm going to be one of your teacher's here. I hope you come to like it here." Tori said using the generic safe spiel that she knew was what they expected.

The young man took her in looked at his father then looked back at her before opening his mouth, "There is nothing you can teach me that I do not already know. I have been privately tutored since birth. There is a good chance I am better educated than you. I am only here to humor my father."

Tori's eyes went wide and Mr. Wayne shot a fierce glare at his son. Tori knew from experience children who had experienced trauma or abuse sometimes acted out and that included speaking out and being rude. The young had not surprised her by the outburst it was the content of his speech. Usually, the children were rude and uncivil and sometimes used language completely inappropriate for any situation. This child, however, was confident, well spoken, and seemed much older than he was.

Tori smiled throwing Damian off he expected her to react differently not smile at him. He scowled looking at her crossing his arms. Not only did Tori smile she laughed and Damian felt his confusion grow. "Well then. That was a reaction I've never had before." Tori admitted to him

"I apologize for my son's behavior Mrs. Blithe." Mr. Wayne said

Tori cast wide hazel eyes on him her smile growing. Bruce thought it suited her he had expected the teachers to be a bit more, traditional. He had not expected someone like Victoria Blithe being unfazed by Damian's behavior and her smiles. "No need for apologies. Here at Gotham Preparatory, we help the students explore different parts of themselves. Give them an opportunity to exercise certain emotions and teach them how to best handle them. Damian will fit in fine. Actually, I'm looking forwards to it."

Tori had to admit she was curious and she liked a challenge. The only thing that had turned her off from the beginning was the fact he was Bruce Wayne's son. Once she met him she saw him just like all the others that came to her here. Scared, angry, and hiding pain that they didn't want to deal with. She wanted to help him she could see the little boy pretending to be a man.

"Excellent." Mr. Wayne said giving her a smile looking directly at her. Tori turned to him and caught his look. What she didn't know was this wasn't just a Bruce Wayne look, this was a Batman look. He was analyzing her from head to toe from the way she blinked to the way she twitched her fingers. All Tori knew is that she suddenly felt naked under that stare. It was the same stare Damian had given her just much more intense and calculating. What was with these Wayne men? She fought the heat coming up in her cheeks but couldn't stop the slight pink tinge that colored the skin there.

Tori cleared her throat and averted her gaze quickly. "Unless if you have any specific questions Mr. Wayne and Damian, we can start the tour." She offered hoping to get out of Mrs. Halloway's office and on with this so she could get back to her regular life and away from these two with their serious soul searching stares.

"Absolutely, thank you Ms. Blithe, come along Damian." Mr. Wayne said and went to the door opening it and offering the open passage politely to Ms. Blithe. She smiled and walked through Damian followed arms still crossed without a sound.

Bruce stood a moment looking back the office letting his thoughts process. So far Victoria Blithe was a unique woman. She didn't back down from anger or spite very easily which probably came easily to her with her experience here working with the children in her care. She was pretty in a classical way pale skin, dark hair, and hazel eyes. Her pants suit and jacket were retail as were her shoes. She wore no wedding ring only jewelries present were two pearl studs and a gold cross. She was of average height, weight, and size nothing about her said she was athletic. Overall very normal nothing to be concerned of. He would continue his evaluation as they took their tour.


	2. Chapter 2

Tori was finding herself settling down a bit as she started showing the two Wayne men around Gotham Prep. The school had been remodeled about ten years ago so the architecture on the inside was fairly modern and up to date while the outside still had the Gothic architecture that was unique to older buildings in Gotham. The inside of the school had the typical white stucco walls and the ceilings had the foam roof tiles and the fluorescent lights. The doors that lined the hallways were all painted forest green with each door having the generic rectangular window cut to it for viewing.

"There is only three floors to the school. The first floor is the commons area where the student lounge, library, auditorium, and gym are located. The second floor is where the offices of the teachers, therapists, and counselors are located as well as the general rooms used for group and individual therapy and counseling sections. The third floor which we are on now, of course, are the classrooms and where Mrs. Holloway's office is located." Victoria explained as they walked

"Impressive." Mr. Wayne said smiling at her and Tori returned it politely looking to Damian but wasn't surprised to still see him scowling glaring straight ahead and not giving any mind to his surroundings.

"How many students are currently enrolled here Ms. Blithe?" Mr. Wayne asked curiously.

Bruce watched her closely still trying to pick up on anything that may be out of the ordinary about her. Other than the nervousness she displayed and the lack of experience obviously dealing with this situation there was nothing strange about her. What he did know was she was left handed, she constantly used her left hand to fix her hair that wasn't mussed; she had a little scar on her chin probably from a childhood accident; she walked with her shoulders straight and her spine impeccably tight with a sort of soldier like march which indicated it wasn't her normal posture or gait; and she had a habit of biting the inside of her cheek when she was speaking.

Overall Victoria Blithe was a nervous woman in the presence of those above her station put to a task she had no idea how to act in. From his memory, she was acting just as she had at the charity banquet some months ago. He didn't know her personally very well but he would deduce she was worried because she was dedicated to her profession and cared immensely for her work and did not want to, for any reason, make a bad impression on him.

Although nervous and twitchy he had no reason to distrust her she wasn't a threat to him or Damian and so far he liked how she interacted with him. Her professional resume spoke for itself and he had hacked into the school database and read her notations and history on her students. It was very detailed and her work usually successful. Most of her students had a high success rate after leaving the school and those who didn't, it was more of their own choices and had nothing to do with her work with them.

"Currently? Only seventy-five and Damian will make seventy-six. Our numbers have been low due to lack of staff and funds, unfortunately. However, with your generosity, we can change that." Tori said offering him a broad, more authentic smile.

Mr. Wayne had always been friendly but always in that polished polite surface of high society. At the charity event he had seemed interested and unlike others held her gaze while she spoke to him while she stumbled over her words. His eyes, they were so blue and so intense in the way they looked at you. Victoria thought Damian must get his eye color, a dark green, from his mother.

They had stopped a moment as they neared the elevator to go downstairs so she could show them the rest of the building. Bruce turned to face her as she faced him and noticed her smile, this time, was much more genuine than her tight professional ones from before. Damian stood back and watched the interaction quirking an eyebrow. Bruce chuckled and Tori felt her stomach flip at the sound, she didn't think he laughed often, but it was a nice sound. Victoria tried in earnest not to blush like a young girl. She was a grown woman for crying out loud and somehow she managed to control the heat in her cheeks.

"It's my pleasure Ms. Blithe. I know that it is a bit of an inconvenience to take on Damian so late in the year and I also realize he is not your typical student." He said realizing how much of an understatement that actually was.

"It's not an inconvenience although I will admit a bit of a surprise. Nonetheless, we are happy to have him and I look forwards to working with him," Tori said and then turned to Damian he gave her his typical condescending glare which she returned with only a smile. "I believe you'll like it here Damian."

He snorted "Ms. Blithe I wouldn't presume anything."

"Ahem," Bruce said loudly glaring once more at his outspoken son. Victoria had her work cut out for her that was for sure.

"No, it's alright. Please let him speak his mind. It helps me get a better feel for his personality." Victoria said her smile growing and as Damian looked at her once more he felt a little uneasy sensing Ms. Blithe would not be as easy of a push over or as intimidated by his tactics like the usual opponent. She seemed much more stubborn.

Bruce smiled again seeing the exchange between the two and he felt more confident in his choice for bringing Damian here. The elevator dinged, "Well, Ms. Blithe I look forwards to seeing the rest of the school." Bruce interjected between the battle of wills.

"Absolutely," Tori said and stepped into the elevator with the two Wayne men in tow.

Tori took home Damian's file that night to look over it. The manilla envelope was rather thin compared to her other student's records. Sitting on her bed in her pajamas she opened it reading what little literature there was. Typical copies of his birth certificate, social security, and medical history. Other than that there was nothing else the boy had never been to any other major psychologists, therapists, or counselors. She found that odd because most children his age with behavioral disorders or traumatic pasts had been evaluated by a medical professional proficient in mental health, Damian Wayne had not.

She guessed that it had something to do with the common secrecy the wealthy liked to have about their livelihood if it ever were to come to jeopardy. Certainly, the utmost care of keeping Damian under the radar was taken as an illegitimate son of Bruce Wayne. There was always the common rumor of the rich and famous paying off medical professionals to destroy or keep their medical records absolutely confidential. She wouldn't be surprised if it were true in this case everything about Damian Wayne was strange.

She sighed closing the file and leaning back into her pillows staring at it from her seat on her bed still pondering about it. Something about this whole situation didn't sit right with her. She had been around those with behavioral disorders long enough to know things and feel things about people and something felt off not just about Damian but about Bruce Wayne as well.

From the beginning, she felt like he was analyzing her and not in the appraising sort. More of the predator watching its prey and learning about weaknesses. Maybe it was just Bruce Wayne and his true nature given his own tragic past, everyone in Gotham knew that story, the death of his parents and then how he disappeared for nearly a decade before returning. Tori rolled her eyes realizing she was probably over analyzing it she had a tendency to do that it was a big reason why she was still single, she found every single fault with every single man she had ever dated and let it drive her crazy. She sat back up grabbing the file and sat it on her side table before reaching over and grasping the chain on her lamp before turning off the light. Pulling back her comforter and sheets she drifted off into sleep.


End file.
